Improvement in stalk-crushers



UNITED STATES MOSES 1). CHEEK, or MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

, "IMPROVEMENT IN STA'LK-QRUSHER$.-

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 132,95Q, dated Qctober 15,1872.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, MOSEs D. OHEEK, of Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Crushing Oot ton- Stalks, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of machine, Fig. 2 is a rear perspective of the hanging brackets; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the crushing-roller; and Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the same on line :20 a0. "This machine is intended to crush and break the standing and dry stalks of the cottonplant, so that the same may be more readily burn'ed .in the field, or, if preferred, turned urn. der by the plow; and it consists, mainly, of a pairof longitudinally-ribbed cylinders meshing with each other and mounted upon a suitable frame, which is carried upon wheels, and is provided with suitable means for the attachment of a team. During the propulsion of said machine along a row of cotton-plants the stalks are successively caught and passed between said cylinders, and thereby broken and crushed to such a degree that they may thereafter be conveniently drawn into piles for burning or turned under and be buried by the plow.

That others may fully understaud my invention I will particularly describe the way 1 propose to construct it, without, however, intending to limit myself to the precise construction shown, nor to its application for crushing cotton-stalks, because the same machine will operate in a manner equally satisfactory in crushin g corn-stalks, 85c.

A is a strong frame mounted upon the wheels B B. The tongue 0 serves the usual purpose for attaching the team and guiding the machine. I place the legs D beneath the ends of said frame, and mount the axlespindles d at the lower ends of said legs, so as to raise the frame A su-ificiently high to accommodate the crushing -cylinders beneath it. A hanging frame, E, is suspended from the frame A, and depends therefrom nearly to the surface of the ground. Said hanging frame is bifurcated toward the lower end, and the two parts of the same are bent forward to support the steps for the shafts of the crushingcylinders F F, whose 7 upper ends turn in boxes secured to the frame A. The crushing-cylinders are provided with their longitudinal ribs f f, with intervening spaces considerably exceeding in width the thickness of the said ribs, so that the crushed stalks will not clog or jam the crushingcylim j ders. when said cylinders are in working'position these ribs and spaces interlock or mesh with each other in the manner of cog-gear, though motion is not thereby transmitted from one to the other. ders there are cog or spur .pinions G, which mesh with driving-gear b upon the inner side of each wheel B, respectively, and the crushing -cylinders are thereby revolved independently of each other while the machine is mov- 4 ing forward in a straight line. VVh en, however, the machine is moving in a curved line, as while turning at the ends of 'therows, 8tc.,one

wheel moves faster than the other, the crushv in g-cylinders would jam if the pinions Gr were rigidly fixed upon the shafts of the cylinders- F. 1 therefore make said pinions loose upon said shafts and free to move up and down thereupon, and I provide them with ratchetclutches, as shown at 9, whereby, when raised up, they may revolve freely without turning their respective crushing-cylinders. When the wheels B revolve backward the inclined surfaces of the ratchets at g are brought in contact, and slide over each other without causin g the crushing-cylinders to revolve. The same effect is produced when one wheel revolves faster than the other, as while turning a corner, motion being then communicated directly from one cylinder F to the other, the motion of the pinion of said other cylinder being at that time relatively backward. The pinions G are raised simultaneously out of gear with the crushers by means of a double-clutch lever, H, pivoted at the back of the frame E or I A, and operated by the lever h, which extends up through the main frame to a point conven more certainty near the ground, but also to act upon it obliquely as it passes through the crushers This prevents sudden strains and PATENT Orrrori:

On the shafts of said cylinging the crushers,

- it between the oru'shers.

jars upon the mechanism and prevents clog: and distributes the labor of crushing each stalk over a greater or less portion of an entire revolution. I therefore attach a reel, J to the forward part of my machine,

=which, when 1t comesjin contact with the standing stalks, will cause them to be bent over forward, as described. The reelJ is mounted at the ends of adjustable hangers K, so that the reel may be adjusted high or low, as required. The ribs fare elongated and turned outward, like toes, as at i, attheir lower ends, so as more readily to gripe the stalk and draw The cogs 0f the pinions G are extended downward at their outer edges so as to present an'elon gated face, which will'not'go out of mesh with the driving-gear upon the wheels B. Moireover, by constructing the cog-teeth of the pinion G in the manner described, they will expel the mud and sand which will sometimes lodge between the teetlflof the driving-gear on the wheel 13.

Having described my invention, what I claim.

l. The crushing-cylinders-F F, constructed with longitudinal .ribs and mounted in hangers beneath a main-frame mounted on wheels, which support and drive said cylinders, as set fOIth; v

2. The freely-rotating reel J, mounted in adjustable hangers K K, and combined with the crushing-cylinders F F, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the ribs j of the cylinders F, the projecting toes i to gripe and break the stalk, as set, forth.

4. In combination with crushing-cylinders F F and crown-wheels B, the pinions G G, constructed with hanging or drooping teeth, as and for the purpose shown and described. MOSES DECATUR CREEK. Witnesses: I

D. H. BOSTON, I B. W. WILLIAMSON, JR. 

